An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent…

The use of the point is,

First,¹ to convince us of the guilt of all the elect people of God, and their guiltiness even of violent death, and unexcusablenesse under that death. If so be we had been innocent, what needed Christ to have been so patient as he was, so Lamb-like in his innocency? His Lamb-like innocency is an argument of our guiltiness: The servants of God, especially such as take any more narrow search of their own waves, they see themselves full of blemishes, spots, and wrinkles, ⟨p. 159⟩and many such things, Isa. 64. 6. We are all as unclean things, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. They are all as the clouts of a menstruous woman, even all our best righteousness: This this the condition of us all, full of uncleanness, and pollution, and deformity: And which is worse then that, unexcuable in all: for if we could have told what to say, and to say justly, Christ would have said it much more fully then we could; for he is our Advocate, and it were a shame for an Advocate, if the party of the cause could defend his cause better then his Advocate: Christ is more skilful in the Law then we; but his silence doth profess, that he knows not what to say, to stand out in our defence. He might have excused some of Gods elect from this or that actual gross Sin; but he could have excused none from a guilty proneness to all manner of Sin: There is a vicious proneness in us to all sin, and therefore Christ could not tell what to say. And as there is a proneness in us to all sin, so there is an actual commission of many sins, And in many things we sin all, James 3. 2. And there are few or none of Gods elect; that if so be a man that is privy to all their dealings, were to give an account of them, he could not justify them from the guilt, and stain of all sin. Now this is the case of Christ, he hath been acquainted with all our ways; and if he be examined of what hath been done wickedly, before the Church, and before the Common-wealth, he is not able to deny, but both Church and Common-wealth might proceed against us all. And this may cast a holy blushing upon us in the presence of the Lord, and of this Lamb: Christ could have told what to have answered, if ought had been to be answered; but when he stands in our room, he stands silent: he could not with truth bear witness unto any of us touching our guiltiness: